Booking a holiday, want advice on 0% Money Transfer cards.

radiocaf

Hi guys,

(I start with some back story, so skip ahead to line of hypens if you just want my questions.)

So I am looking to book a holiday for me, my partner, and my mother. The holiday is a 50th birthday present (for my mother) rolled into our usual annual trip to Florida.

In the past, we have been able to put a deposit on the holiday and pay it off in the lead up to it, but because we are going for an unusual amount of nights, we find that we are unable to put a deposit down, we have to pay in full.

Now usually in a predicament such as this, my mom and dad have stepped in, god bless them, and borrowed me money with no charges or interest (Bank Of Dad™) but because this holiday is a gift for my mom, this is no longer an option for me to use as it would give away the cost of the present to the recipient.

This lead me back to this site, and it's money saving options on borrowing money, and because I only need to borrow around £3,500, it suggested a 0% money transfer credit card, namely the MNBA Platinum 0% for 31 months on Money Transfers with a 4% fee.

However, I am not up to scratch on credit cards. I have a credit card already, but can only tell you it's a MasterCard provided by Lloyds TSB, and that I use it as a "middle man" to protect my larger spends, wherein I buy something using the credit card, and then instantly log into my online banking to pay off the transaction I just made. I hope you understand what I mean.

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From what I can see, I transfer money from my credit card account to my current account, and within (usually) 24 hours the money is in my account, and in the case of the MNBA Platinum Card, I pay an initial 4% fee, and no interest as long as I meet the minimum payment each month and pay it all off within the 31 months of 0%.

Am I correct?

Would this be compatible with my Lloyds account? With my current credit card, it's on my internet banking, so I can manage my credit card alongside my other accounts, how would it work with this card as I'm not taking it out with my bank as the provider? How would I transfer the money into my current account?

The 4% fee, is that a one off fee on whatever I "withdraw" from the card, so withdrawing £3,000 will charge me a one-off, non-recurring £120 and that's it (providing, of course, I meet the minimum monthly payments and pay it off within the 31 months?)

So, say I now own the card, and I'm about to book the holiday. What I would do is transfer the money I need from the card into my bank current account, and pay for the holiday with the money that is put into my current account with the relevant debit card for that current account. What I wouldn't do is use the credit card to pay off the holiday, because that isn't a money transfer, that's spending, which accrues interest at 22.9%, so I would pay a lot more than just the 4% one off fee. Is that right?

Finally, what would a typical minimum monthly payment be? The reason I'm put off by a loan is because I don't want it too long (want to pay it off quickly), but I also don't want to be paying loads each month, I like to have as much available cash, just in case, each month, so a high-cost direct debit would be a huge hit to spare available cash. If you need a hypothetical amount to answer this, use £3,000.

I think that's all my questions. Thank you in advance for your help guys!

eskbanker

Why not get a credit card that offers 0% on purchases and pay for the holiday with that? Most travel agents will charge you 2-3% to pay by CC but that's obviously less than a money transfer fee....

radiocaf

Got to be honest, I didn't know they existed. I though it was usually 0% on balance transfers, money transfers and the like. I shall have a look, thank you!